Possibly terminal illnesses

i find these things can be a gift and curse i've personally witnessed how strong such events make the human spirit. Its a curse that you may possibly not live as long but a gift that you become so strong that you make the impossible possible and don't think like the average human folk bound with all kinds of perceived obstacles.

I've seen people battling all kinds of illnesses having a much better quality of life than those who have no such events in their lives.

what are your perspectives on this? are you one of them or know one of them?

paulflexes saidI've seen people go both ways...most see life's obstacles as less challenging; and some see the illness itself as the ultimate challenge and give up.

But ultimately, it's how one perceives it. Yes, for the most part, people with terminal illnesses tend to have a better quality of life because they're more appreciative of the little things.

I can see that one part says end it right then and there and other says live on finish up everything you wanted to and then rest. It is a tough experience I'm hoping to gain more insights into how people feel about this.

I think its true: our moments of greatest challenge reflect how we view life, and whether or not we choose to fight or give up.

My favorite example is Christopher Reeve. (I know his particular case was an injury, not a disease, but still) They fully expected he'd never move anything below his neck ever again. Reeve himself contemplated suicide and/or euthanasia. But by the end of his life, he was capable of moving his fingers and toes. In water, he was capable of moving most of his joints. This is a guy whose spine was severed from his skull: thanks to his wife and his friends, he decided that he wasn't going to just give up or give in. He eventually got so well that he was capable of doing work again, as a producer and director.

I recently met one the most awesome, attractive, nice, outgoing, fun, well educated an generally good people I have ever met in my life. He is fucking amazing in pretty much every way.

His ex cheated on him and gave him HIV. I know he IS the lease deserving person in the whole world. But he is still going, his dreams were dashed.. his life was about to take off, he was set. The diagnosis stopped all of it.

He has risen above it, and now has new dreams.. he has used the terrible occurrence to better himself. He is now devoting himself to positive change for equality and health reform.. he's just that amazing.

Terminal illness isn't always bad.

I have been fighting something pretty gnarly myself the past 10 months, getting near the end... I am probably better for it.

Ok, but going thru a potentially terminal illness is no day at Outward Bound either. Ya dont do it to become a "better" person. Ya kinda dont have any choice, and ya just do what you have to do to survive.

I have hyperthyroidism. When I was innitially diagnosed back in my 20s and I refused to go on medication of any sort (they wanted me to take eradiated iodine for a year to kill my thyroid followed by a lifetime of synthroid- synthetic hormone replacements) I was told that by my 30s I would be riddled with tumors and cancers. Well Iturn 33 this year. No cancers, no tumors. And thanks to my diet and exercise I have my hyper thyroidism under control.

Death to me is absolutly nothing more than another appointment I'll have to keep! With my work I'm around death daily, yet it amazes me to see an 80/90 year old have so much fear about death, and will do what ever possible to prevent it. Yet we all owe God one death.

CanadianSun said...what are your perspectives on this? are you one of them or know one of them?

I've seen a lot of this, know a lot of them, almost been one myself. Was twice told I was terminally ill, which failed to panic me. I assumed it was a misdiagnosis, which they both eventually proved to be. I lost no sleep over it.

Then earlier this year I had 2 doctors tell me that having prostate cancer was a high probability. I wasn't very much phased, told them to delay the biopsy crap, give me antibiotics, my PSA would fall back to normal levels. It did. I simply will not be stampeded into believing the worst, though I did post my concerns here, a little unsettled at first, then taking a more detached wait-and-see attitude.

Doctors told me my late partner was terminal, and I watched him die over nearly 2 months, literally breathing his last breath in my arms. And I was told my father was terminal, too, which he never knew. I spent his last 6 weeks with him, watching him have no fewer than 4 heart attacks when I had to rush him to the hospital each time, trying to keep him alive. And I could tell you other stories about watching people around me die before my eyes, a list that would be very long.

So yeah, I know a little about this topic. The drawback to my toughness is that I become immune to death, and to loss, too numb to feel anything anymore. You finally withdraw into yourself, and expose nothing that might be hurt yet again. You find a way to survive, but at a cost that is very high, the tradeoffs making you wonder if it's worth it.

Well, in any case, we are all terminal. The only variable is the timing. I've gotten far enough along that now I can rest, sort of an emotional retirement from this issue. Had a very rich and interesting life, and if I were told tomorrow I was a dead man, though I wouldn't welcome the news, neither would I feel cheated or a victim. A nice place to be, sorta like having the ultimate "life insurance."

Life is a terminal illness. How long you last depends on your attitude to all of the things that happen in your life. Some give up when they have to get their first job, and eat themselves to death. Others are still going on balloon rides in their nineties. The diseases don't kill us. Our attitudes do.

technically my illness is terminal, but it takes quites a bit of time for it to take full effect... i learned long ago to get over it and be content with wasting a day in bed if that's what makes me happy. some days i think i should be out there climbing mountains and not wasting my life grading papers, but i have to say my happiest days are those sleeping in on a sunday morning, cuddling with a special guy, and making a fattening breakfast... i know it might seem mundane to a lot of guys, but those are things i think i'll miss way more than any mountain.

barriehomeboy saidLife is a terminal illness. How long you last depends on your attitude to all of the things that happen in your life. Some give up when they have to get their first job, and eat themselves to death. Others are still going on balloon rides in their nineties. The diseases don't kill us. Our attitudes do.

But regardless, we all die, sooner or latter. From birth we where never givern the guarantee of growing old; it's not a right.